Where Real Violence Comes From

"Republicans have been so intent on defeating "Obamacare" -- and thus, they believed, defeating President Obama -- that they engaged in despicable tactics.

"They are, in fact, reaching feverish and dangerous levels.

"How dangerous? After Lynchburg Tea Party members posted the home address of Rep. Tom Perriello's brother -- in the mistaken belief it was Perriello's address -- a line between a propane tank and a grill was found severed at the house inside a screened porch."

-- Roanoke Times editorial, "The Politics of Rage," March 28, 2010 --

First they came for the barbecue grills.  Then they came for the Jews.  Then ...

Someone allegedly snipped a barbecue grill hose.   It's not safe to go outdoors.  Call out the National Guard. The right-wing Tea Partiers are on a rampage.

Good grief.

So let's take a trip down memory lane and look at what real violence directed at political opponents looks like, and at those perpetrating it.   

John Hinderaker:

The Democrats have tried to change the subject away from their health care debacle by claiming that conservatives are threatening violence against them. Their complaints are pathetic where they are not out-and-out lies (e.g., Clyburn and Lewis), and they have taken a lot of well-deserved criticism. It is liberals, not conservatives, who rely on ad hominem attacks, outrageous allegations and violent imagery. We talked about this on our radio show today, and several callers reminded us of a particularly sorry episode of liberal violence that, for some reason, has not gotten much attention: the 2008 Republican convention in St. Paul.

I attended the convention and remember the terrorist acts that were carried out by anti-Republican protesters very well. They threw bricks through the windows of buses, sending elderly convention delegates to the hospital. They dropped bags of sand off highway overpasses onto vehicles below. Fortunately, no one was killed. [link]

And they make an issue out of a barbecue grill.

For the love of God.